The technology for making homemade lime and mint tincture is similar to the recipe for lemon liqueur, but there are several differences in ingredients and aging time. It turns out an alcoholic drink of light green or green color with a well-balanced sweet-sour taste, in which high strength is not felt, a bright citrus aroma and light notes of mint.
The variety of limes does not matter, but it is desirable to choose firm fruits with a strong smell. The optimal alcohol base is vodka or ethyl alcohol diluted with water, but any moonshine (distillate) of good cleaning is also suitable.
Ingredients:
- lime – 3 pieces (medium);
- mint – 5-6 fresh leaves or a third of a tablespoon dried;
- vodka (alcohol 40-45%, moonshine) – 0,5 liters;
- sugar – 1 tablespoon, plus to taste for sweetness;
- water – optional (to reduce the strength).
A little sugar is required to balance the taste, sweeten the drink after steeping.
lime tincture recipe
1. Pour boiling water over limes, then rinse in running water and wipe dry to remove wax or other preservative from the surface.
2. With a knife, grater or vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the fruit – the upper green part without the white, bitter peel.
3. Fold the zest and mint into a container for infusion – a glass bottle or jar. Squeeze the juice of one lime (the rest of the peeled fruits can be used for other needs) and 1 tablespoon of sugar to soften the taste.
4. Pour in the alcohol base, mix, seal tightly. Infuse for 7 days in a dark place at room temperature. Shake once a day.
On the 3rd day, remove the mint, otherwise the drink will have too strong mint tones.
5. Filter the finished lime tincture through gauze or a sieve. Taste, sweeten with sugar if desired, and stir.
To reduce the strength, you can use syrup: mix water and sugar in a saucepan, bring to a boil, boil for 3-5 minutes over low heat, removing the foam, then cool to room temperature and add to the infusion.
When diluted with water or sugar syrup, the drink may become cloudy due to the high concentration of essential oils.
6. Pour the finished homemade lime tincture into bottles for storage and seal tightly. Leave for 2-3 days in a dark cool place to stabilize the taste.
Shelf life away from direct sunlight – up to 5 years. Fortress (with sugar according to the recipe) – 36-38%.
